GmatPrep

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 132
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:59 pm
Thanked: 4 times

GmatPrep

by vladmire » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:50 pm
Practice Test 1 question states

How many of the students in a certain class are taking both a history and a science course?

(1) Of all the students in the class, 50 are taking a history course.
(2) Of all the students in the class, 70 are taking a science course.

a. 1
b 2
c both
d either alone
e or neither suff.

Is there enough information to create a venn diagram or a formula. OA - e.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 105
Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 8:12 pm
Thanked: 6 times

by gmataug08 » Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:34 pm
I would go with E as the total strength of the class is not given .

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:19 am
Location: Orlando
Thanked: 6 times

by raajan_p » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:00 pm
Formula that can be used here is

Total = Group 1(History) + Group 2(Science) - Both + Neither

When a value for Neither is not given, we can assume it as 0.

So,

Total = Group 1(History) + Group 2(Science) - Both + 0

We can find the value of Both, had we known the total number of students in the class.

Legendary Member
Posts: 621
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:13 pm
Thanked: 33 times
Followed by:4 members

by vittalgmat » Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:19 pm
raajan_p wrote:Formula that can be used here is

Total = Group 1(History) + Group 2(Science) - Both + Neither

When a value for Neither is not given, we can assume it as 0.

So,

Total = Group 1(History) + Group 2(Science) - Both + 0

We can find the value of Both, had we known the total number of students in the class.
Can somebody pls clarify this? . I have seen in some problems where it is assumed and in some other problems it is not..

Thanks

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

Re: GmatPrep

by lunarpower » Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:23 am
vladmire wrote:Practice Test 1 question states

How many of the students in a certain class are taking both a history and a science course?

(1) Of all the students in the class, 50 are taking a history course.
(2) Of all the students in the class, 70 are taking a science course.

a. 1
b 2
c both
d either alone
e or neither suff.

Is there enough information to create a venn diagram or a formula. OA - e.
you can do a venn diagram here.
i can't create one within the bounds of a forum post, but imagine that the following post has the form of a venn diagram, with one circle at left and one circle at right.
imagine that the left-hand number is in the left circle but not in the right circle; vice versa for the right-hand number; and that the center number is in the overlapping region of both circles.

let the left-hand circle represent the history class, and the right-hand circle the science class.

in this case, the 2 numbers at left (excluding only the right-hand number) must sum to 50, and the 2 numbers at right (excluding only the left-hand number) must sum to 70.

try different numbers in the middle. it turns out that you can put any number from 0 to 50 (inclusive) in the middle; here are two examples:

30 20 50 (where the '20' is placed first)
40 10 60 (where the '10' is placed first)

since the middle number is queried, this proves that the two statements together are insufficient.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron